Russia actively hires Africans not only in the ranks of its army. African female students are actively involved in the assembly of Shahed drones in the city of Yelabuga in Tatarstan. In the special economic zone called "Alabuga" there is a plant for the mass assembly of 1/5
Iranian drones. In Russia it is called Geranium-2. The girls are brought mainly from Uganda, where they are selected on the basis of a competition, showing good results in studying natural sciences in high school. They are paid $ 1,000 per month, which is three times higher 2/5
than the average salary in the country, free flights and accommodation, a university diploma. As a rule, they are not told that they will be assembling drones, but are offered work and study in the "high-tech sector". Before this, Russian students were involved in the 3/5
assembly of drones. According to journalists, more than 1,000 girls from Uganda have already found work at the plant in this way. The girls study at the Alabuga Polytechnic College and work in parallel with their studies. At the same time, the students complain that the 4/5
work is exhausting. They go on shifts for several days in a row. This plant also became famous after a Ukrainian drone struck it on April 2, 2024. Then up to 16 people were injured, and the drone set a record at that time, flying 1,300 km. from the Ukrainian border. Russia 5/6
actively exploits Africans, taking advantage of the low economic indicators in the region and luring people into the army or to assemble drones, promising huge amounts of money by the standards of the region. 6/6 🧵by @iljaandreev
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The Baltic states and Finland are increasingly considering the use of natural landscapes as an element of defense on NATO’s eastern flank. The idea is not only to build traditional fortifications, but also to make the terrain itself less passable for a potential advancing
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force. Among the measures being discussed is the restoration of bogs, peatlands and other wetlands that could serve as natural barriers for heavy vehicles and slow the movement of troops. The idea is being actively discussed in Lithuania, Latvia and Finland. For example,
Latvia is considering restoring former peat extraction sites along its eastern border. After drainage canals are closed, such areas quickly fill with water and turn into bogs and water bodies. This approach would both repair environmental damage caused by past extraction and
Investigative journalists, together with European security services, have established that Russian leader Vladimir Putin instructed a group of political technologists and Russia’s military intelligence to interfere in Hungary’s parliamentary elections in April in order to
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secure the victory of incumbent Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Putin assigned responsibility for "handling" Hungary to Sergei Kiriyenko, the first deputy head of the presidential administration, who is considered the architect of Russia’s entire infrastructure of political
influence, both domestically and abroad. Kiriyenko was also behind the Russian interference campaign during Moldova’s 2024 presidential election. At that time, Russia used vote-buying networks, troll farms, and local activists to shape public opinion against the pro-Western
Another large anti-corruption operation is underway in Ukraine. Law enforcement officers exposed the Commander of Logistics of the Ukrainian Air Force, Andrii Ukrainets, and the head of the Security Service department in Zhytomyr region, Volodymyr Kompanichenko, over
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corruption during the construction of aircraft shelters. This was announced by Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko. "This was the largest special operation in recent years. Documentation of the criminal activity lasted about two months. The most difficult task was
ensuring full confidentiality of the process. One of the suspects - a high-ranking SBU official - had a deep understanding of the tactics and algorithms of investigative and covert investigative actions. Given this, it was necessary to act with maximum caution, using methods
In Russia, "import substitution," like many other things, has long turned not into technological development but into a convenient way to siphon off budget funds. The state allocates money for the creation of "domestic developments," after which companies take ready-made
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Western solutions, slightly adapt them, and present them as their own innovations, keeping subsidies and reporting an alleged technological breakthrough. A telling example is the case of the company Newco. The Ministry of Industry and Trade attempted in court to recover
177.6 million rubles, arguing that hearing aids developed with state funding were in fact based on technology from the Danish company Oticon and did not constitute an independent development. However, the Moscow Arbitration Court sided with the business, ruling that
A wave of property confiscations that swept across the regions and affected officials, security officers, and judges has brought the state an amount comparable to the annual budget of a small region. In total, over the past 5-7 years, property worth 100 billion rubles has been
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seized in corruption cases, Accounts Chamber auditor Andrei Baturkin reported in the State Duma. The confiscations have reached such a scale that, according to Baturkin, a “road map” is now required to coordinate the relevant agencies that will have to deal with seized companies,
houses, land plots, and collections of luxury cars and watches. It is necessary to “establish communication between the power bloc and Rosimushchestvo so that there is more feedback regarding what property is to be transferred into the ownership of the Russian Federation,”
Bloomberg reported, citing sources, that Greece and Malta have become the main obstacles to an EU proposal to replace the price cap on Russian oil with a ban on services necessary for transporting fuel. According to the agency’s interlocutors, the two southern European
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countries raised concerns about this step at a meeting of EU ambassadors on Monday, where the latest sanctions package against Russia was presented. They warned that such a shift could affect Europe’s shipping industry and energy prices. Both countries also requested
clarifications regarding proposals to impose sanctions on foreign ports handling Russian oil and to strengthen oversight of ship sellers in order to reduce the number of vessels entering Moscow’s fleet. A representative of the Greek government declined to comment.